Hold Me Tight

We used a net to support our cucumbers

Let me come out clean and say this at least once: We haven't been the best planners when it comes to our garden. Partly because of inexperience, partly because of laziness and partly because of plain old stubbornness (that last one applies to me only). But our loss is your gain and we hope you learn from our mistakes. Today's topic is something we did not fully take into consideration when planning our garden. Trellises. A trellis is a structure made of metal, wood, bamboo, plastic, or even rope used to support vines or climbing plants. Trellises come in many shapes and sizes. What you choose will ultimately depend on your garden space and needs.

When planning your garden take into consideration the growing habits and final size of your plants. Common plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, beans, climbing roses, and peas require a trellis for proper growth. Vines require a trellis for growth but also to support its fruits. How a vine climbs will determine the type of trellis you use. Some vines, such as cucumber, use tendrils to secure itself to any structure. Other vines use its leaves or stems to wrap around structures. As a general rule of thumb thicker structures are needed for "wrapping" vines while thinner materials may be used for "twiners". For our cucumbers (a "twiner") we used a net tied to our balcony posts for support (see picture above). We helped the plant by loosely wrapping the tendrils around the net. After a few hours the tendrils will coil and wrap themselves tighter thus securing itself.

Bamboo fence used as a tomato trellis

Tomatoes, on the other hand, are not a true vine. However, their stems are extremely weak and require a trellis or a cage to hold the plant (and fruits) in place. If you don't provide a trellis your tomatoes will grow on the ground or, as we can attest to (see the classic Man Down! post), your plant may break. We eventually learned our lesson and bought a retractable bamboo fence for our tomatoes. We tied the fence to our balcony posts using plain old tie wraps. Then we tied the stem and branches to the trellis using garden training wire.

It is always recommended that you secure your trellis to your pot or to a strong structure. Otherwise it may shift during strong winds, heavy rain, or under heavy weight. Also, metal trellises are not ideal to use in Puerto Rico because they tend to get hot and burn your plants.

Almost any material can be modified into a trellis. This post barely scratches the surface on trellises. The only limit is your imagination. So share with us what you've used to provide support for your plants and join us next time for more on container gardening in Puerto Rico.